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I'm Amy, writer and founder of Minnesota Locavore. Here it's all about eating and creating locally in the North Star State.
I like to learn and to dabble in a little bit of everything. That's exactly what you'll find here: recipes, tips on locavore eating, DIY and quilting, photography, books, and all-things Minnesota.

A conversation earlier today… – Hello God. It’s me. Amy. So I don’t normally bring stuff like this up, but if there’s any way a snow day is in my future, this week would be a really great time for it. Sort of could use it, ya know? – Thanks. I’m writing this from bed with the vaporizer chugging away and a box of tissues plopped down beside me. On Monday I took my third sick day since I started my full-time job 6 years ago. Friday I take the GRE. Next Monday I start my Master’s program. This week I joined the club of those who stare at that…

Today marks the 13th day in a row I’ve had fresh strawberries for at least 2 meals a day. If case you haven’t been to the farmers’ market or stopped by a Minnesota food blog lately, we’re in the middle of strawberry season right now across the state. We’ve been out to pick twice now, stuffing our faces and the corners of our freezer with berries. Today I thought I’d share a round-up of the strawberry recipes from the archives and a sample of some of the gorgeous things my fellow Minnesota food bloggers are making with their berries. Don’t forget to pass along links to your favorites in the…

Minnesota strawberry season opened this week and the berries are begging to be picked. This morning I stopped out to Afton Apple Orchard in Afton, Minnesota and picked 30 pounds of strawberries for freezer jam, pies and fresh eating. The berries are ripe and juicy from the rain we’ve had this year. There’s nothing that says “Hello Summer” like a morning in the berry patch followed by an afternoon in the kitchen making jam. Here’s a quick video update of my day today and a 3 ingredient recipe for your own strawberry freezer jam: Strawberry Freezer Jam – Minnesota Locavore from Amy Sippl on Vimeo. Strawberry Freezer Jam Ingredients 4…

Two things I know: 1. All the world looks better after grilled cheese. 2. #1 also applies to a glass of red wine. Today I’d thought I’d share a guest post I have up on the Minnesota Cheese Festival blog for a springtime grilled cheese with spinach and ramps. It would go great with a glass of red wine too, I suppose… The cheese festival is this Sunday, May 18th at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds and features more than 100 different artisan cheeses and food pairings to go with them. There’s two sessions you can attend on Sunday and tickets can be purchased for $35 in advance or $40 at…

The snow finally melted off the Little Acre Garden Bag this week and things are looking kinda shabby. 3 long growing seasons and withstanding the extreme sun/temperature fluctuations of our patio are about all we could ask for from one patch of soil. It’s time to start finding the perfect container garden. When we bought the Little Acre it was our first summer in the town house and we were eager to get anything to grow. By mid-summer we’d created what Greg and I now affectionately call the crazy vegetable bush: Container Garden Lessons Although it looks green and healthy here, the plants were so crowded and overgrown they never…

If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em. That’s about the only advice I have left to manage this beast of a winter. If we can’t get the ice and cold and snow and general misery to disappear any faster, we might as well get out an enjoy it. Last weekend Greg and I headed up for our annual February trip to the North Shore with one mission in mind: show this Minnesota winter we’re not scared. We can have a good time when it’s this cold. {Insert my puffed-out-parka-can’t-stop-this-chick-in-extra-heavy-long-underwear look.} Our big adventure of the long weekend was a day trip to the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore in Bayfield, Wisconsin. Like…

Just putting the last of the decorations away and sorting through the pictures from my sister-in-law Whitney’s baby shower in Wisconsin last weekend. When Whitney told me last fall she wanted to have a gender reveal shower I was jumping up and down excited for weeks. I spent the next gazillion hours on Pinterest and Etsy searching for the perfect theme and decorations. Finally we settled on a “Waddle it Be?” penguin theme. Not a bad plan for this frigid February we’ve been having. The thing I like most about throwing parties like this is the chance to meet and work with people who are as passionate and inspired by the…

There’s a new local guest in our refrigerator that I’ve been dying to tell you about… Minnesota Locavores, meet Philia Food’s Savory and Spicy Feta Spreads. (Since the company has been around the farmers’ market scene since 2012 there’s a chance you may have already met my new snack food friend. If so, humor me this time and read all about what I made with it!) I stumbled on these last week at Mississippi Market next to the cream cheese. Here’s how the conversation went: Me: “Hello…Umm…Excuse me? Hi there. I’m Amy and I…well I couldn’t help but notice you’re wearing the “Discover Local” tag, and…well…I’ve got to be honest,…

Things I wish I had less of in my life: – bad hair days. – automatic flush toilets. – commercials on Pandora for engagement rings. Things I wish I had more of: – double-down snow days. – episodes of Smash – reasons to make cheesecake. I mean, can you really ever have too many reasons for cheesecake? New jobs, baby showers, first dates, bad hair days. All good reasons for cheesecake. Being stuck in the house for 2 days because of a “polar vortex.” Also a good reason for cheesecake. Yesterday I decided to have a serious “screw winter weather” moment and made a pan of blueberry cheesecake bars with…